United Church of Christ
United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.
The Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ (UCC) equips a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love.
Where the Creator and creation pray, play, and wonder together
The Outdoor Ministry of the MN Conference UCC offers events for individuals and families of all ages, abilities, and stages of life to experience rest, renewal, and reconnection through a retreat or camp experience. Our goal is to create opportunities for people across the Conference to fall in love with God’s creation, encounter the sacred in the natural world, and experience the deep interconnectedness of nature, human community and one’s own soul.
We were able to safely gather—completely outside—for the Women’s Wilderness Retreat September 24–26. Watch this brief video we made in celebration of our time together.
Creation Justice Series
Great Lakes Creation Care Series #1: “Treaties Broken, Earth and Lives in Crisis: How do we change the narrative for the land and all its people?”
January 13, 2022
Featuring Frank Bibeau, tribal attorney for Honor the Earth and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe
WATCH & LISTEN
Great Lakes Creation Care Series #2: “Treaties Broken, Earth and Lives in Crisis: “Good Money After Bad: How to invest in creation care”
February 10, 2022
This discussion examined the ways we choose to spend our money and do damage to the earth and the lives upon it, as well as offered concrete steps “investors” at every level can take to reduce that damage.
WATCH & LISTEN
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Planetary Health- Co-Creating a Better Future for All
April 22, 2021
Presenter: Teddie M. Potter, PhD, RN, FAAN
WATCH & LISTEN
What do COVID-19, structural racism, and the devastating wildfires in the western United States have in common? They are all symptoms of a planet in multi-system failure. But it is not too late for all of us to work together to co-create a healthier future. Learn more
“Kiss the Ground” documentary discussion with Rep. Todd Lippert and the Land Stewardship Project
April 10, 2021
WATCH & LISTEN
Right now, soil might be the last thing on your mind. But when the future of our planet and humankind is at stake, nothing may be more important than regenerating the ground beneath us. We’re in need of a kind of hope we’ve never felt before. “Kiss the Ground” unveils a game-changer to our climate crisis: the Earth’s own soil. Learn more
What is Permaculture?
March 18, 2021
WATCH HERE
Heidi Morlock and Hans Peterson related stories of experimenting for 20 years with permaculture principles and sustainable agriculture at both the garden and farm scale.
How Then Shall We Live? Putting Faith Values into Earth Practice
February 18, 2021
WATCH HERE
Christian faith like other religions calls us to live in harmony with the planet and peace with one another. But how exactly do we do that in our daily lives in the society in which we live? How do we choose our next steps amid the myriad of “green” options? Learn more
The Green Awakening: Churches and Environmental Justice Today
January 14, 2021
Presenter: Rev. Brooks Berndt
WATCH HERE
In the 1730s and 40s, Christian revivalism caught hold as the First Great Awakening swept through the colonies and ultimately formed part of our UCC heritage. The next Great Awakening will be a Green Awakening, and the UCC can play a significant role in leading it. Learn more
Creation Justice Resources
- How to become a Creative Justice church
- Mankato UCC service and outreach
- Land Stewardship Project legislative update
- Land Stewardship Project soil builders
- Land Stewardship Project “Sacred Cow” film screening; Q&A
- Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act
- Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light
- ISAIAH
- Fair Trade Campaigns
- Equal Exchange
- Sierra Club
- NAACP
- 350.org
- Planetary Health Annual Meeting
- Planetary Health Alliance
- Earth Overshoot Day
- Lancet Journal
- Project Drawdown
- Nurses Drawdown
- The Great Transition
- The Green Boat by Mary Phyfer
- Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken
- Earthrise by Amanda Gorman
- The Seven Fires Prophesy of the Anishinaabe